


The Flip Side

by zeldadestry



Category: Entourage
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-15
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-12-11 23:49:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/804663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeldadestry/pseuds/zeldadestry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric’s sitting at the kitchen table when Vince walks in, looking at his phone, obviously reading something that pisses him off, given the full-on scowl he’s wearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Flip Side

Eric’s sitting at the kitchen table when Vince walks in, looking at his phone, obviously reading something that pisses him off, given the full-on scowl he’s wearing. 

“What’s up?” Vince asks, pulling out a chair to sit down. He doesn’t feel fully settled until after he stretches his legs underneath the table and traps Eric’s bare feet between his own. “What’re you looking at?” 

“Buzz from the festival,” Eric mutters.

They’re not in Cannes this year, but they’ll probably be working at the next one. Vince just finished shooting a film with Todd Haynes and he’s pretty sure it’s going to be awesome. “Yeah? Anything interesting?” Eric still looks way too grim, and Vince drags the arch of his foot up the outside of Eric’s calf. 

“I hate it when you do that,” Eric says.

“Do what?” Vince pokes at Eric’s thigh with his big toe. “Am I doing something?”

“Stop staring at me.”

Huh. Vince was expecting something more like, stop trying to distract me, you enormous baby, I’ll give you all the attention you want when I’m done with this. “Why? You stare at me sometimes.”

“Hey, millions of people around the world pay ten bucks to watch you for ninety minutes. Can’t expect me to not take advantage when I get the show for free.”

“I’d pay a lot more than ten bucks to watch you in a movie.” Vince isn’t making a joke, though of course Eric will take it as one.

“Yeah? But you’re the only one who would and that’s why you’re the movie star and I’m the manager.” Eric puts his phone aside and meets Vince’s eyes for the first time since he appeared. 

“So how do you feel about this?” 

“What?”

“I’m not looking at you anymore, right?” 

“Yeah, you still are.”

“Sure, but now you’re looking back, so we’re actually staring at each other.” Vince grins and Eric stops trying to force the corners of his mouth to stay down. “Aw, E, you’re so cute when you smile.”

“Shut up.”

“Seriously.” Vince presses a hand to his chest. “Warms my heart.”

“Asshole,” Eric says, but lifts Vince’s foot onto his lap and begins kneading its sole with both thumbs. 

“That feels awesome.” Vince slumps lower in the chair. “You’ve got serious grip strength, you know that?” 

“One of the reasons you keep me around?”

“One of the many.” Eric’s brow is furrowed again. “But I think you’re the one who needs a massage.”

“Huh? Why?” 

“You seem kinda cranky.”

“Nah, not really, just read something that pissed me off, that’s all.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid.”

“Tell me.”

“Well- there was all this “Tree of Life” buzz before it premiered, but a lot of it was only because Brad Pitt’s starring in it. So people were psyched to see him but then when they watched the film it was, ya know, the usual Terrence Malick deal, contemplative and slow, so now people are complaining, saying it’s overrated, calling it boring.” 

“Huh.” They both know what it’s like, to put so much time and care into a project and then feel gut punched by the response. There are never any guarantees, they both know that, but somehow knowing something never helps when shit actually starts, when the project that seemed so beautiful to the people inside of it looks ugly from the outside. “But, you know, everyone’s different, right? Not all of the people who go to see it just because Brad Pitt’s in it are gonna hate it.”

“I have no idea.”

“That kind of shit can’t be predicted, right?”

“Why do you sound happy about that?”

“I guess because, I never thought about it exactly like this before, I don’t know, but it’s cool for me. It’s so cool to imagine someone going to see a movie they never would have seen otherwise, just because I’m in it. And, who knows, they might hate it, yeah, but they also might realize they dig it, that they want to see more movies by that director or in that genre or whatever. I guess that might be one of the only benefits of being a star that actually has to do with the art.”

E shakes his head and Vince knows he’s got him, that he’s reached the point where he’ll just give up on what he’s thinking to death, which is good, because he’s usually happier when he does. “You optimists are fuckin crazy, you know that?” He squeezes Vince’s toes. “I see shit, you see gold, well, ok.”

“It’s nice having someone around who can show you the gold.” Vince raises his eyebrows. “Am I right?”

“It’s one of the reasons I stick around.”

“One of the many?”

“One of the many.”


End file.
